Monday, October 13, 2014

Although the NA Sales Restaurant Show already occurred back in May, that doesn't mean other events aren't happening! Our sister company Mutual Trading had their restaurant show over the weekend at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena and several of us at NA Sales were invited to attend and take part in the festivities. This time, we got to see and enjoy the event from the eyes of an attendee and not a planner. Our time was unfortunately short due to travel, but we still had a chance to experience quite a bit!

Representatives from various breweries, food producers, and suppliers from all over assembled to provide a great atmosphere for tastings and product demonstrations. Mr. Hirano, president of Tsukiji Masamoto was also present providing his famous knife engraving services. Several seminar panels were also scheduled for a variety of subjects including how to use trehalose, how to design drink menus, tips for creating cocktails, information about craft beers, and how to sharpen knives more effectively.

It's always interesting and informative to see an event as a visitor. We all enjoyed ourselves and saw some great ideas that we may adapt for our events as well!

Monday, July 14, 2014

Soy sauce may be one of the most important condiments in Japanese and Asian cooking. It brings a combination of umami, saltiness, and color to dishes. It can also be used as a dipping sauce by itself, or mixed with other components to create a fusion style sauce. It is a truly versatile product.

NA Sales visited the Yamasa Soy Sauce factory in Salem, Oregon over the weekend and got a first hand look at the production process for their soy sauce products. With a focus on quality, there are no shortcuts in the brewing process and no unnecessary ingredients are added. As a matter of fact, it takes a full six months to age a batch of soy sauce! Their koji mold used is a point of pride, and has been cultivated and refined for hundreds of years. This koji is what gives Yamasa soy sauce its unique taste.

Friday, June 20, 2014

No matter where you go, fried chicken is a fantastic comfort food. The southern United States is known for having some the greatest fried chicken, but let's not forget about Japanese style karaage!

Japanese style chicken karaage often uses smaller, boneless pieces of chicken in contrast to the big bone-in pieces of American fried chicken. Additionally, potato starch or corn starch is used to create a light, crunchy texture.

Today we prepared our new Premium Karaage Powder with no MSG in our kitchen. We used two different methods of preparing the chicken: one method we used just the powder, and the other we mixed the powder with water. Both were tasty and brought about different characteristics.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

What do you think of when you hear “sake in a can?” To be
frank, it’s probably not the most positive image. Canned products have faced an
undeserving stigma for being low grade or having inferior quality. That is
simply not the case, and Kikusui wants to let the world know.

Kikusui Brewery in the Winter

We met with Richard Priest of Kikusui and had the privilege
of sampling a few products, including the aforementioned canned sake. But first,
why are some of Kikusui’s sakes canned? The main goal is product preservation.
With a bottle, the seal will never be completely airtight around the opening.
In comparison, Kikusui’s can is specially lined on the inside and completely
sealed so nothing can enter or leave. Furthermore unlike a bottle, light cannot
enter a can and spoil the sake. An unpasteurized sake such as the Funaguchi is susceptible to various environmental hazards such as light and air, but a completely sealed vessel will prevent the elements from negatively affecting the contents. Kikusui’s Funaguchi sake in
its characteristic yellow can was the first of its kind when it was introduced
over forty years ago as a NAMA (fresh) sake. To date, it is Kikusui’s most
popular product, accounting for a third of their overall sales.